The Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) announced today that Peek (www.peek.com) will open a regional office in Utah, adding up to 100 jobs.
“Peek’s business model combines IT and outdoor recreation, two industries in which Utah really excels,” said Val Hale, executive director of GOED. “It’s certainly exciting that we’ve attracted such a high-end company, though not surprising. Peek will be right at home here.”
Based in San Francisco, Peek is disrupting the $100 billion plus global activities industry. The platform combines Peek.com, an award-winning marketplace to book amazing activities, with Peek Pro (www.peekpro.com), the No. 1 tour operator software in the U.S. Whether it’s going ziplining, swimming with sharks or taking a cooking class, Peek connects people with everyday adventures. Hidden gems come from “Perfect Day” itineraries from tastemakers such as Tory Burch and Wolfgang Puck. Peek.com was named one of TIME’s 50 Best Websites, one of the world’s top-10 most innovative companies in travel by Fast Company, and the company has been featured in dozens of leading publications like Forbes magazine, Vogue and USA Today.
“We couldn’t be more excited about opening up this new office in Utah,” said Ruzwana Bashir, co-founder and CEO of Peek. “After extensive research and market diligence, it became incredibly clear that Utah provided the perfect mix of employee talent, technology DNA, and a hard-working culture to make this new operation a home run for our rapidly growing company.”
Peek has indicated that the expansion will create up to 100 jobs over the next five years. The total wages in aggregate are required to exceed 110 percent of the county average wage. The projected new state wages over the life of the agreement are expected to be approximately $17,248,103. Projected new state tax revenues, as a result of corporate, payroll and sales taxes, are estimated to be $1,374,770 over five years.
“One of the most exciting aspects of doing economic development is when we see truly innovative companies come to the state and enhance the ecosystem we already have,” said Jeff Edwards, president and CEO of the Economic Development Corporation of Utah. “Peek is a great example of this — a paradigm-changing company that can make both our IT and outdoor products industry clusters better. We’re so happy to have them in the state.”
Peek may earn up to 15 percent of the new state taxes they will pay over the five-year life of the agreement in the form of a post-performance Economic Development Tax Increment Finance (EDTIF) tax credit rebate. As part of the contract with Peek, the GOED Board of Directors has approved a post-performance tax credit rebate not to exceed $206,215. Each year as Peek meets the criteria in its contract with the state, it will earn a portion of the total tax credit rebate.